Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Catcher in the Rye Blog 14


Growing up is a major theme throughout The Catcher and the Rye.  Holden is in between the child and adult stages, and cannot decide which one he wants to be.  He often acts immature and has very little self-esteem.  “‘Boy!’ I said. I also say ‘Boy!’ quite a lot. Partly because I have a lousy vocabulary and partly because I act quite young for my age sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I'm seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I'm about thirteen. It's really ironical, because I'm six foot two and a half and I have gray hair. I really do. The one side of my head – the right side – is full of millions of gray hairs. I've had them ever since I was a kid. And yet I still act sometimes like I was only about twelve. Everybody says that, especially my father. It's partly true, too, but it isn't all true. People always think something's all true. I don't give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am – I really do – but people never notice it. People never notice anything.” (Salinger 9).  Holden realizes what his problem is, but fails to do anything about it.  He thinks that people tell him to do better, but expect him to fail if he does.  This affects him both mentally and socially.  Without the encouragement of an adult, Holden will continue to feel depressed and useless.  His isolated behavior is a result of a childhood that lacked strong adult influence and encouragement.  He had good parents, but he did not seem to be very close to either of them.  Holden would end up learning the hard way that one must grow up sometime.  Though all the details are not present, it is stated at the beginning of the novel that Holden ends up in a mental institute because of an emotional breakdown. 
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.

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